


works like a charm

by helaravenclaw



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, 신의 탑 | Tower of God
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Bellefeuille Khun Aguero Agnis, Dark Magic, Death, Durmstrang, Durmstrang Student Anak Zahard Jr., Durmstrang Student Hatsu, Gen, Hogwarts, Horned Serpent Ship Leesoo, Hufflepuff Twenty-Fifth Baam | Jyu Viole Grace, Ilvermorny, Khun Aguero Agnis is Whipped, Legilimens King Zahard, M/M, Ombrelune Androssi Zahard, Prophecy, Slytherin Rachel, Supportive Rak Wraithraiser, Triwizard Tournament, Twenty-Fifth Baam | Jyu Viole Grace is a Ray of Sunshine, Wizarding World (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:00:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24662707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helaravenclaw/pseuds/helaravenclaw
Summary: born of gold on the twenty-fifth night,the chosen one shall be brought to light.alongside the bearers of the rings,war will rage, spill fresh blood of the king.if the son of blue leads him astray,the chosen fate will end in decay.jue viole grace and khun aguero agnis should never have become friends, not when they are destined to be enemies, one fated to die by the other's hand.
Relationships: Anak Zahard Jr. & Androssi Zahard, Anak Zahard Jr. & Hatsu & Ship Leesoo, Androssi Zahard & Khun Aguero Agnis, Androssi Zahard & Twenty-Fifth Baam | Jyu Viole Grace, Khun Aguero Agnis & Ship Leesoo, Khun Aguero Agnis & Twenty-Fifth Baam | Jyu Viole Grace, Khun Aguero Agnis/Twenty-Fifth Baam | Jyu Viole Grace, Rachel & Twenty-Fifth Baam | Jyu Viole Grace, Twenty-Fifth Baam | Jyu Viole Grace & Rak Wraithraiser
Comments: 99
Kudos: 121





	1. specialis revelio

**Author's Note:**

> as much as i disapprove of jk rowling for her transphobia and other issues (like naming her only asian character _cho chang_ of all things), i love harry potter and his magical world too much to leave it behind. so here's an au, dedicated to all those hours i spent wishing i'd get a letter to hogwarts.
> 
> it's set in the wizarding world, and there is still a prophecy (wow i have never done so much poetry in my life), but the og hp characters don't exist, not in this timeline. the ten great families are all purebloods, except for the yeons, who are adopted (based on their affinity for setting things on fire (like our darling ehwa)) and trained to be brilliant witches and wizards.
> 
> i hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> specialis revelio: charm that reveals hidden magical properties in an object.
> 
> jyu viole grace is an enigma, a puzzle that khun aguero agnis wants to take apart piece by piece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'll be switching povs basically every chapter, so you'll get an insight into everybody's heads at one point or another :) man i can't wait to write rak
> 
> i can speak french pretty well, and there should be no issue with translations, but i'm not so good with spanish? that's why khun only swears in spanish he thinks in various languages to confuse legilimens like jahad

Once upon a time, there was a prophecy, and connected by that prophecy were three wizards, all fated to destroy one another at different points in their lives.

The first wizard was a Muggle-born self-proclaimed king, a powerful and charismatic leader although he had been born from nothing compared to those who had been raised in a world of magic. He'd promised to bring wizard-kind to glory, to finally be able to stand tall and proud even in the Muggle world, but over the years, he'd been corrupted by his own selfish desires. Even then, his faithful followers and fanatics had only grown, worshiping and praising his ideals. He called himself King Jahad.

One was a boy-god, a Half-blood, orphaned by circumstance and hidden away from the eyes of Zahard by the Forces Under God, or FUG. There, he was trained for the destiny that was to befall him - it was prophecized that he would bring freedom to those who rejected Jahad's ideals. Word said that he was a monster with power strong enough to rival that of Jahad, a monster who had been taught the art of magic, how to bring light, how to bring death. They called him the Slayer, Jyu Viole Grace.

The last wizard was meant to be a Pureblood and a wildcard. Those who supported the great Jahad loved him, for it was implied that he would kill the godling destined to spill the blood of the king. Those who were against Jahad feared him and made sure their beloved Golden Slayer was kept far away from him for the exact same reason. 

Nobody knows who that last wizard is, least of all Khun Aguero Agnis.

Aguero had been told about the prophecy ever since he was a child. According to his father Khun Eduan, the patriarch of the Khun family of Purebloods, his family are meant to sire the wizard who would kill the Slayer. King Jahad had sent countless scholars to analyse the prophecy, but even an idiot could tell 'son of blue' could only mean Aguero, or any other of the Khun males by their signature blue hair.

Aguero, on the other hand, couldn't care less about the God Killer. He's the disgrace of the family anyway. All witches and wizards who had been born from a Khun had been Ombrelunes at Beauxbatons, the French School of Magic: they were cunning and ambitious, qualities that Aguero has too.

There is one problem - Aguero is not an Ombrelune.

He remembers being eleven years old and excited to be sorted into a house; excited to find new friends, friends he could scheme and plot with; excited to make his father proud of him, so his father would finally focus on him. He remembers firing that fateful silver arrow into the air, waiting anxiously for it to explode into sparks of blue...

It had burst into a magnificent firework of green.

He had been born into a family of Ombrelunes, but Aguero himself had been sorted into Bellefeuille, house of the sensitive and nature-loving, which Aguero most definitely was not. It wasn't that bad, but to the rest of the family, it was a horror of all horrors.

Instead of kicking Aguero to the curb like he should have done, Eduan had kept him close. _Who knows_ , the man had told the rest of his family, _Aguero could redeem himself by being the God Killer. Besides, we need more wizards when it comes to fighting FUG._

Aguero had felt a strange, inexplicable sense of horror at having to kill a boy who did not even know he existed. He swallowed it, agreeing with his father.

Life as a Bellefeuille had not been particularly kind to him. Most of the other Beauxbatons students, including those of his own house, had kept their distance, preferring to flat out ignore his existence, or whisper behind his back. The Muggle-borns were still having their crash-course on the Wizarding World, some barely aware about the Ten Great Families, but even they sensed that something was off about Aguero. The Half-bloods and the Purebloods did most of the gossiping instead: _that's the Khun boy,_ they whispered to each other, _be careful of him. He may be pretty, and he may be a Bellefeuille, but he's still a Khun, and he could destroy you without even a hint of remorse._

Aguero let the rumors fly. Let them say whatever they wanted about him - it was better off that way. He was better off that way.

That wasn't what Androssi Zahard thought, though. Androssi... she was something else.

Androssi was like nobody Aguero had ever known. She reminded him a little of his favorite half-sister, Maria, who had left him to join Jahad's Princesses of Death. On the outside, she was just a pretty face, both Muggle and wizard boys tripping over themselves just to take a look at her, just to get her to glance at them. The girls wished they were like Androssi, pretty and popular, even though nobody knew about the Half-blood witch's past.

On the inside, though, Androssi was a demon wielding a blade forged from beauty and sharpened with strength, a demon who sought power and was strong enough for Jahad to recruit her into his group of Princesses. She was the youngest of them all, but no less able. Aguero knew that well enough - at first, the witch had tried to seduce him. She was an Ombrelune, known for ambition, which meant she pursued him again and again, only for Aguero to turn her down every time. To explain why without exposing himself, Aguero had turned to Quidditch - Androssi was a Seeker for the Ombrelune team, and Aguero a Chaser for Bellefeuille (he was a prodigy, the team had to admit), but both of them were searching for different things. What the Ombrelune was seeking was not Aguero, not really; and what the Bellefeuille was chasing after was not a relationship, and definitely not a girl.

Aguero developed a grudging respect for the girl after she managed to hunt him down and Bat Bogey Hex him until he agreed to be her friend. Androssi could be incredibly terrifying when she wanted to, and Aguero believed wholeheartedly that Androssi could become one of the most powerful of the Princesses. Together, they could be unstoppable.

It wasn't like either of them had other acquaintances close enough to call friends anyway.

Naturally, they are side by side on a dark October night when the students of Beauxbatons arrived at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the Triwizard Tournament. As usual, they are 'fashionably late', flying in on their Abraxan-drawn carriages. For the past two decades, the Tournament had been cancelled after an incident involving a cockatrice accidentally set loose, but this year, the Heads of the wizarding schools had deemed it safe enough for Hogwarts to host the event. The Durmstrang students from Russia had arrived a day or two earlier on their ship, transported to the Black Lake of Hogwarts through a magical passageway in the Baltic Sea. The Ilvermorny students are also present, having arrived on time via a Portkey.

When it is time for them to enter the Great Hall for dinner, all the foreign students are told by their respective Headmasters to find a seat among the Hogwarts students, seeing each long table taken up by witches and wizards wearing blue, green, yellow and red. They had to 'socialize', according to the Professors, 'learn about each other's cultures'. It makes sense, considering they'd be at the English school of magic for the next half a year. Aguero can't help but admire the candles floating artfully in the air, the ceiling painted with magical stars - the Beauxbatons decor is fancy, but at the same time it nothing like this. Most of the Durmstrang students scatter to sit among the green-robed students, a few with the red; most of the Ilvermorny ones find kin with the blue, a couple of them sitting in a field of yellow jumpers and scarves. That leaves Beauxbatons with the red house and the yellow one.

Androssi hums as she strolls down the hall, searching for seats. She grabs Aguero's arm, and the blue-haired wizard shakes her off with a glare of ice. " _Oh! Il est mignon, non? Asseyons-nous là_."

He turns to where Androssi is pointing. There's the witch's next target - a boy dressed smartly in Hogwarts robes, a yellow and brown scarf wrapped around his neck. A Hufflepuff, if Aguero remembers correctly - red is Gryffindor, blue is for Ravenclaw and Slytherins are green. The Hufflepuff boy doesn't look like much: just an ordinary brunette. A little plain, perhaps with the potential to be attractive one day, but something about him piques Aguero's interest, a near-physical force pulling Aguero towards him.

As if he can feel Spanish wizard's gaze on him, the boy looks up, brown eyes meeting blue.

Time grinds down to a halt, and Aguero shivers from head to foot, feeling like a ghost had walked right through him. Perhaps one has - there are various ghosts in Hogwarts, one nearly headless ghost having fun spooking the Durmstrang students at the Gryffindor table. The other wizard severs the brief but incredibly strange connection between them when he yelps, shoved off the bench by an invisible force.

Androssi pokes him gleefully, misinterpreting Aguero and the brunette wizard's respective reactions as visual attraction. " _Allons-y, Khun. Il t'intéresse, oui?"_

Aguero scowls dangerously, regretting ever telling Androssi about how he batted for the other team. " _Tais-toi, Androssi._ " The witch doesn't particularly care. " _Puta_ ," he grumbles in his mother tongue, " _deberías comer mierda._ "

Androssi stops for a few moments, trying to mentally translate the insult from Spanish to French. Aguero neatly ducks out of the way when Androssi screams indignantly, trying to hex him. The brunette wizard crawls back onto his seat, staring at them with wide eyes.

The look of terror only amplifies when Androssi begins marching Aguero across the dining hall, throwing herself onto the seat next to the brunette. Aguero takes a seat next to her, smoothing out his blazer.

 _"Âllo!_ I'm Androssi Zahard," she says in heavily accented English, batting her eyelashes in an attempt to be flirtatious, " _et tu?_ "

The brunette seems to have the same trouble getting across the language barrier, eyes darting from side to side before mumbling something unintelligible. He doesn't meet the witch's eyes, instead eyeing Aguero with a look of curiosity and mild dread. He cocks his head as if he's trying to figure out where he'd seen the Khun boy before.

"Hah? Talk louder, _s'il vous plaît_."

He clears his throat, looking away from Aguero. "I actually have two names? Most people call me Jyu Viole Grace, but some people call me the Twenty-fifth Bam." Aguero and Androssi blinks. "'Bam' means 'night' in Korean, but it also means 'chestnut', and I've been told I look like one. I don't speak much of it, even though my dad was Korean." Androssi cocks her head. "He and my mum passed away when I was young, and I never had the chance to learn or practice it with anyone," the boy adds.

Bam has a nice voice - totally different from Aguero's, which is still quite heavily accented, throaty with his 'r's rolled. English isn't his native tongue, after all. When he was younger, his father had forced him to learn English, for the sake of his future. Even though Aguero wouldn't care if Edahn burned in Fiendfyre, he's still glad he'd learned the language.

"Jyu Viole Grace, you said? Or Bam?"

"Yes."

Aguero chokes on his pumpkin juice, and Androssi cheerfully thumps him on the back so hard he could've spat his stomach out of his mouth. _Mierda_ , this boy is the _Slayer_? And the reason both of them had reacted so strongly to seeing each other for the first time was because _Aguero_ is meant to be the _God Killer_?

It seems like Jyu Viole Grace - or the Twenty-fifth Bam - makes the connection at the same time as Aguero. "You're a Khun, aren't you? The 'son of blue'?"

He doesn't sound patronizing, or accusing, merely resigned. Aguero looks away, guilt rolling over him in waves. "Khun Aguero Agnis."

"You're going to kill me one day, aren't you Mr Khun?"

The Chosen One looks no older than Aguero and Androssi, and they are both only sixteen. There's a kind of innocence to him, bright and magnetic, only dulled by a look of trauma in his eyes. He look like someone who had been to hell and back, but refused to let it break him.

 _You'd be a fool to believe his innocence_ , says a voice in his head. It sounds like his father. _Trust no one, least of all him. He may look harmless now, but he will become a god. He will be too powerful to stop. What then? He will kill Jahad, so you must kill him first._

Aguero doesn't listen. 

Instead, he plays with his food, pushing his _bouillabaisse_ around with a fork. The magical buffet system had adjusted itself to fit for the foreigners, and Aguero sees Bam take a look at the _escargots_ , wrinkling his nose a little. Ah, how the French managed to make snails look posh. "It was written in the prophecy. Do I have a choice?"

Both of them remain silent for a few minutes. "I don't know. I- I don't want to die. I don't want to let down the people I'm fighting for."

"I know." He says he knows, but he can never understand, not when the people who expect him to be proud of his destiny also happen to hate him for his identity.

"Can- Can we just be friends? Even if it's just for today?" Something about him reminds Aguero of home - the warmth of his smile feels like sunlight and a fire crackling at the hearth; under the light of the candles, his eyes are golden like Muggle honey or _provoleta_ when Aguero's mother leaves the cheese baking in the oven for just a while too long.

The Bellefeuille offers him a small smile. "Of course, Bam."

Androssi sighs dramatically, neatly slicing the tension in half. "Somebody, please talk to me. I refuse to... Aguero, what's the phrase for it in English? _Tenir la chandelle_?"

Bam blinks, turning to Aguero for an explanation. "Third-wheel," the blue haired wizard translates.

Androssi snaps her fingers. "Yes, that."

Bam ducks into himself, looking impossibly small in his large robes. "Sorry, Miss Zahard. I didn't mean to ignore you."

The French witch waves a hand carelessly. "It's fine, Bam. And just call me Androssi."

"Oh! Alright, then, Androssi."

Androssi instantly starts making small talk with Bam, discussing the Tournament, Aguero preferring to simply listen and offer his input whenever it is asked for. Androssi had already thrown a paper slip with her name written on it into the Goblet of Fire; Bam glances at one of his Gryffindor friends (it was some Wangnan that Aguero had never heard of but looked a little familiar), telling them that he suspected this Wangnan had submitted Bam's name along with his own. Aguero hadn't submitted his name, preferring to plot and plan and not fight. Quidditch is a different ordeal - he used to play with his siblings, and it had been enjoyable while it lasted.

"Students!"

Aguero raises his head when a booming voice at the front of the hall speaks. It belongs to a giant of a woman - _that's Professor Evankhell,_ Bam tells them in a whisper, _she's Headmistress and teaches us Defense Against the Dark Arts. She's really good, but she's really tough on us._ Bam proceeds to inform them that the woman - Professor Evankhell - is in fact half-Giant.

"First of all, welcome to Hogwarts!" The hall fills with cheers from students, even Aguero claps politely. "I hope you're all full!"

Androssi groans. "This place is horrible for my diet. Beauxbatons meals are nothing like this. I never want to leave this place," she grumbles, a hand on her stomach.

Bam giggles, quickly quieting down when one of the other Hogwarts professors, a tall blonde with two spots on his face, gives him a look of disapproval.

Professor Evankhell approaches the Goblet of Fire, and Aguero can feel Androssi tapping her foot against the floor in anticipation. He kicks her leg in warning, and she kicks him right back. "Now, for our four Champions!"

The DADA teacher taps her wand against the Goblet, once, twice. The Goblet promptly spits out four pieces of paper - the four names of the Champions.

"From Ilvermorny, we have Ship Leesoo!" Applause rises from the Ilvermorny students as a young man with a buzz-cut and a red and blue robe steps away from the Ravenclaw table to stand by Professor Evankhell. _He's a smart one,_ Aguero presumes. Like the Ravenclaws.

"From Durmstrang, Miyamoto Hatsu!" The Durmstrang students are rather quiet in their praise for Hatsu, who is equally as quiet on his way to the front of the hall, although he wears heavy boots hidden under a fur coat. Aguero is pleasantly surprised - he'd heard that Hatsu is a keeper and the grudging protege of Arie Hoaquin, star of the White Wyverns Quidditch team. Next to him, Androssi gasps quietly.

"Next up, Androssi Zahard of Beauxbatons!" The Beauxbatons witches and wizards scream their support for the Ombrelune witch, and Androssi blows them all a kiss on her way to the platform. Aguero gives her a thumbs up - he is proud of his friend, even if he would never admit to her that she even counts as a friend.

"Lastly, our Hogwarts Champion is..."

There's a drum-roll from the Hogwarts students, all of them eager to know who would be representing their school.

"Jyu Viole Grace!"

For a while, the hall goes quiet, so silent you could hear a pin drop. Aguero knows what they're all thinking - the Goblet had picked the Chosen One as a Champion? In every timeline, Tournaments with the Chosen One involved were doomed to fail.

Aguero is beginning to worry for Androssi.

"Fück yeah!" One of the older Gryffindors, a tall wizard with a - what were those Muggle caps called? Snap-backs? - jumps onto the table, ripping off his robe and swinging it over his head. "That's our Viole!" Bam looks flustered. "Make us proud, baby!"

"Language, Mr Mazino," one of the professors reprimands him sharply. "Get off the table and put your robe on."

Mazino - or rather, Urek Mazino, youngest professional Quidditch player in history and infamous Beater of the Wingtree Wargs, as Khun's older cousin and Mazino's teammate Khun Hachuling had told him - pays the professor no mind, whooping at Bam.

A blonde Hufflepuff joins Urek, standing on the bench a few seats away from where Aguero is sitting. He grins confidently. "Beauxbatons may have won the Tournament last time, but we'll win this year! We're all rooting for you, Bam!" That's Bam's friend Wangnan, from Bam's reaction and mumbled complaints about being under the spotlight.

Wangnan's words rolls over the hall like a wave, and soon, each and every single Hufflepuff is cheering for Bam at the top of their lungs. Their words are contagious - another Gryffindor boy, a dark haired Second Year (probably), yells for Bam to bring their school victory, which sets all of the Gryffindors screaming for the same thing. The Ravenclaws follow suit, shouting their support, led by a girl with hair like a waterfall of fire. Most of the Slytherins join in, with no reason but to challenge the foreign students to beat their infamous Slayer.

Of course, some of the students remain silent, staring at the Slayer in distaste. Aguero assumes they were Purebloods, supporters of Jahad.

Bam stumbles to his feet, laughing in total disbelief. Their hands connect briefly when Aguero reaches out to steady him out of pure instinct. "Merlin's flaming panties," he mumbles, "I'm the Champion."

Aguero grins at him crookedly. They may be 'friends', but the Bellefeuille is still more loyal to his school and to Androssi than he is to the young Slayer. "Do your best, Jyu Viole Grace. Androssi's gonna wreck you."

Bam grins back, a challenge in his eyes. "I don't think so. Tell Androssi I won't go easy on her just because she's a girl."

Aguero is beginning to like this Slayer. What a pity their fates have to intertwine like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i gave hatsu a last name purely because i can't have him only go by 'hatsu'. 'miyamoto' was taken from 'miyamoto musashi', who was a famous japanese swordsman and philosopher. also, if you can't tell, prince is the 'dark haired second year' (miseng is a quiet but sensitive first year ravenclaw) and hwaryun is the 'ravenclaw girl with hair like a flaming waterfall' or whatever it is that i wrote
> 
> translations: most of the things in italics are in a different language, unless it's obvious that it's for emphasis  
> 1) il est mignon, non? asseyons-nous là.: he's cute, no? let's sit there (fr -> eng)  
> 2) allons-y, khun. il t'intéresse, oui?: let's go, khun. he interests you, yes? (fr -> eng)  
> 3) tais-toi, androssi: shut up, androssi (fr -> eng)  
> 4) puta, deberías comer mierda: bïtch, go eat shït (sp -> eng)  
> 5) et tu: and you (fr -> eng)  
> 6) s'il vous plaît: please (fr -> eng)  
> 7) mierda: shït (sp -> eng)  
> 8) provoleta: [grilled cheese appetizer ](https://cdn.kiwilimon.com/recetaimagen/21771/11560.jpg) (sp)  
> 9) bouillabaisse: [ fish stew ](https://d3d127vhjgkwcw.cloudfront.net/images/articles/2018_02/30-minute-one-pot-cheaters-bouillabaisse-fb.jpg)(fr)  
> 10) escargot: [ cooked snails in butter and herbs? surprisingly good (in my opinion anyway) ](https://media.king5.com/assets/KING/images/3e674579-d273-40ba-9f1b-682c1e06fda9/3e674579-d273-40ba-9f1b-682c1e06fda9_1140x641.jpg) (fr)  
> 11) tenir la chandelle: to be the third wheel, but literally it's hold the candle (fr -> eng)


	2. wingardium leviosa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wingardium leviosa: makes things fly.
> 
> bam feels like he is flying, and it may be because he is. what a pity dragons can fly too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gotta love how i only have 1 bts fic finished out of 8 (and 2 more in planning), whereas i'm actually done planning for this and ships in the night? i'm even writing a merfolk au on my phone i have too much free time smh
> 
> thank you to everyone who took the time to read this, as well as everyone who gave kudos and comments! special thanks to [This_Love_Is_Real](https://archiveofourown.org/users/This_Love_Is_Real/pseuds/This_Love_Is_Real), who has been so excited for this ever since i suggested the au in ships in the night xD thank you for your support!

The first task of the Triwizard Tournament involves dragons.

Or rather, it involves stealing a false golden egg from a dragon, which will be buried among real eggs, which are more leathery in texture and could crack open to reveal a baby dragon at any minute. The dragon also happens to be a new mother, who would attack any moving object near her unborn babies at first sight.

Reasonably, Bam is terrified.

At some point during his second year at Hogwarts, Bam and his friends Wangnan and Ehwa had almost been blown up in an accident involving a dragon. 

Technically, it was the gamekeeper Rak Wraithraiser's fault - Rak was a close friend of Bam's, as well as the one who had stormed into the orphanage he'd lived in and demanded Bam follow him to a train station that didn't exist. His best friend Rachel had laughed incredulously, both of them believers in magic but neither of them believers in witches and wizards, until Rak had stuffed a Hogwarts letter of acceptance in her face (and Rachel had been sorted into Slytherin by a talking hat, of all things). Bam's first year had been complete and utter chaos, a story he really didn't want to delve into.

But back to dragons - Rak was an (illegal) animagus who took on the form of a massive alligator, a mountain of a Scot with a love of reptiles in human form. Rak had conveniently forgotten to tell Bam that he was the proud father of a baby Norwegian Ridgeback, albeit having the dragonet imprint on him was an accident. Dragon Turtle, as the dragonet was called, had to be sent to Poe Bidau Gustang's dragon sanctuary in Romania after Dragon Turtle set Rak's hut on fire. Mr Quant Blitz, their Flying Instructor, had been all for it, but Professor Lero Ro of Potions and Professor Yu Hansung of Transfiguration definitely hadn't supported it.

To this day, Wangnan still likes to joke that Ehwa would've set the hut on fire if Dragon Turtle hadn't.

Either way, Bam connects dragons to fires, and fires to potential death. 

At least Bam is immune to death by fire - if the prophecy was true, and Khun Aguero Agnis really was going to kill him, the only way Bam could die was by Aguero's hand. He may or may not have tested that theory various times across the years, as Wangnan and Ehwa have a tendency to create trouble, and he himself has a tendency to attract it. Most of the time, he remains completely unscathed, even if his friends aren't. Some Slayer he is.

The First Task will happen in a month - late November, to be exact - and Professor Evankhell has already told them that four dragons from Gustang's sanctuary will be sent to Hogwarts. Bam can only hope that he isn't up against an adult version of Not Turtle, who would be a lot more fearsome than she had been as a dragonet the length of an arm.

Professor Evankhell asks the four champions to decide the picking order among themselves - as a Muggleborn, Ship Leesoo of Ilvermorny had suggested a simple competition of 'rock paper scissors'. Thankfully, the other three champions knew how the game was played - Hatsu is a Muggleborn, Androssi a Half-Blood with limited knowledge of Muggle culture, and Bam a Half-blood raised among Muggles.

Androssi wins the match, and is the first to stick her hand in a bag full of _somethings_ that moved. She pulls her hand out: pinched between her fingers is the tail of a miniature enchanted Swedish Shortsnout toy, struggling to free itself from her grasp. Leesoo goes next, screeching when a Common Welsh Green picks him instead, nipping him on the finger and refusing to let go. Hatsu picks a Chinese Fireball, admiring how realistic it looks until it blows out a tiny ball of fire and nearly sets his fur cloak on fire. That leaves Bam with the last pick - a Hungarian Horntail that stares at him with beady black eyes, wrapped around his little finger.

The other three champions look confident about the challenge, and Bam tries to look the same way. He isn't sure if it works. "May the best of us win," Leesoo says with a grin.

"Eat dirt." Hatsu swoops off to where the rest of the Durmstrang students are when their headmaster calls for him, a solemn ghost in a fur cape. Even the Fat Friar, the ever-friendly Hufflepuff ghost dodges out of the black-haired wizard's way as he passed.

Leesoo turns to Bam and Androssi, like he was searching for solace. "Is it just me, or are all the Durmstrang kids that rude?"

Androssi shrugs with a playful smirk. "I don't know about him, but I'm going to leave all of you in the dust." She promptly does just that, called away by her own headmaster to join the Beauxbatons students at the back of the hall. Bam watches her go, accidentally meeting Khun's eyes. He shudders under the sheer force of that blue gaze, looking away immediately.

Leesoo sighs. "She's so gorgeous. I'd thank her even if she hexed me."

Bam laughs. Oddly, he can't quite relate to Leesoo's statement. Perhaps he's too busy being a Slayer to be interested in girls and dating and whatever it is that sixteen year old wizards are supposed to be interested in doing. "Good luck, Mr Ship," the brunette tells the Ilvermorny boy kindly. Sure, he knows he was powerful when it comes to magic performance, probably even stronger than the other three champions, but he isn't going to brag about it. His master, teacher and father figure Ha Jinsung had taught him better than to be rude like Hatsu had been, or cocky like Androssi. _Be confident, but never over-estimate yourself,_ Master Jinsung had told him countless times. "Try not to get burned tomorrow!"

He waves goodbye, walking over to Wangnan and Ehwa. "Good night!" The other wizard shouts. "And Leesoo is fine!"

"Alright, then! Good night to you too, Leesoo!"

He doesn't see the other champions for the rest of the night, nor does he see much of his friends, deciding to crash face first into his bed in the Hufflepuff dorms instead. He falls asleep immediately, even forgoing a shower. He's too tired to listen to Wangnan complaining about his complete lack of hygiene.

They're given the next month to prepare. Ehwa pesters and nags him into eating _something_ from the dining hall every day, but Bam can't bring himself to swallow. Even though he's a Champion in the Tournament, none of the classes have been cancelled, the professors deciding to team up and hold classes for students of all four schools together instead. With the knowledge that he still has to take his OWLs at the end of the year, the nerves eat away at him, with him having to study for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes and Astronomy. Of course, he's good with all the practical subjects, even without studying - it's part of his genetics, apparently, with a brilliant potioneer for a mother and one of the wizarding world's top duellers for a father. 

Luckily, Bam shares classes with all of the Champions - Defense Against the Dark Arts with Hatsu, Ancient Runes with Leesoo and Charms with Androssi. He's in the same Potions class as Khun, as well as Ancient Runes, but he doesn't complain - even though Professor Yu and Professor Ro don't seem to like the blue haired wizard very much, nobody can deny the fact that Khun is an excellent potioneer. Bam is extremely grateful for all the help Khun has offered him, even sacrificing late nights to study with him and Wangnan. In return, he helps Khun with Transfiguration (not that Khun needs it much, but Bam feels bad taking his help without giving anything in return). He and Androssi practice their Charms together, Androssi teaching him bits of French and him teaching the girl bits of English. By the end of the month, they can hold unsteady conversations with each other in their new languages. Khun laughs, too busy being a multilingual genius. 

Leesoo is good at Ancient Runes, compared to Bam, who is merely taking the subject by demand of Master Jinsung so it may be able to help him create new spells he can use against Jahad when the time comes. From experience, Bam learns that Hatsu is an excellent dueller, although he falters when Professor Evankhell brings a Boggart out of the closet with a manic grin. For Hatsu, the Boggart takes the form of a weaponless form of himself. The Japanese boy blasts it with a powerful "Riddikulus!" which makes the Boggart dance and sing instead. Hatsu snorts, looking vaguely amused. "I wish I could dance like that." Much to the Durmstrang students' amusement, he tries to mimic the Boggart's moves with an utterly deadpan expression.

For Bam, the Boggart reacts similarly. It analyses him for a few seconds, then shifts itself into a version of Rachel with glassy eyes and a broken body. Bam's first "Riddikulus" fails, turning it into a lifeless Wangnan. The class watch as the Slayer begins to break down right in front of their eyes, shaking violently with his wand in a steel grip. He sees Wangnan and Ehwa gape when the Boggart turns into _Khun_. Bam freezes. _Khun?_ Since when has Khun mattered so much to him? He knows his only fear - the blood and death he is afraid of seeing will never be his, only those he holds closest. Professor Evankhell clears her throat, announcing the end of the lesson faux-cheerfully and wrangling the thing into the closet.

Bam doesn't tell Khun about what he'd seen in the Boggart, and he can only hope that none of his friends do either.

On the morning of the 24th of November, Bam stares at his lunch, eyes distant. He hasn't seen any of the other Champions, who are probably discussing with their friends, preparing for what's to come. "If I eat any more, I'm going to puke," he deadpans at Ehwa when she pokes and prods him to finish his food.

She springs away immediately. "If you're going to puke, Viole, do it all over Wangnan, not me!"

"Hey!" The two Hufflepuffs begin squabbling almost instantly, and Bam smiles at his friends weakly. Sure, they fight a lot, but they're still his closest friends beside Rachel, who had found her own friends in Slytherin and began to drift away from him. He doesn't know what he'd do if he hadn't walked into their compartment on the train to Hogwarts at the beginning of his first year, and Wangnan hadn't introduced himself with the tacky nickname of 'Prince of the Red Light District'. They'd been through a lot together, and he wouldn't give them up for the world. If Jahad laid a single finger on them, Bam would kill him remorselessly.

Perhaps he should've been sorted into Slytherin instead.

"Black Turtle!" The floor rumbled under their feet as Rak stomps his way over. The Slayer yelps when his giant friend picks him up bodily, carrying him away from his friends like he weighs no more than a sack of potatoes. "We're watching the dragons!"

Bam doesn't even have the time to wave goodbye to Wangnan and Ehwa before the gator-man runs off causing little earthquakes under him. Now Bam feels like he's really going to be sick.

The brunette wizard stumbles when the gamekeeper puts him down, woozy with vertigo. He trips backwards over a rock and falls neatly into a pair of arms. "Whoa," says a familiar voice, amused and smooth like velvet, "you good there, Slayer?"

"Yeah." Bam's voice is a little more breathless than he'd like. "Thank you, Mr Khun."

The blue-haired wizard helps him to his feet. He looks different now that he's wearing Muggle dress shirt. _A good different,_ Bam thinks distantly to himself. "No problem, Bam."

Next to the blue haired boy, Androssi nudges the wizard with an elbow, wiggling her eyebrows and telling him something in French. It sounds like beautiful nonsense to Bam, but it must've been insulting for Khun, who lifts his wand out threateningly, snapping something back in French. Like Khun, the witch is dressed casually, in an orange dress and a cardigan.

Ah, what Bam would give to have a world without language barriers. At least spells are mostly Latin.

"Ignore her," Khun grumbles. "She's so annoying."

Bam laughs, squeaking when Rak picks all three of them up. "Blue Turtle! Ghost Eye Turtle! We're watching dragons together!"

Androssi screams indignantly, like a stereotypical French diva worthy of Muggle films. "Put me down! I'm a Princess of Death! You should know better than to call me 'Ghost Eye Turtle'!" Bam's eyes widen. Androssi is a one of Jahad's Princesses of Death? Merlin's beard, he's making a lot of friends who would play a part in his imminent death one day. At least Princess Ha Yuri of Gryffindor is all too happy to be a spy for him. 

"Sure, Princess Ghost Eye Turtle. I'll put you down." Rak unceremoniously drops her to the ground. Androssi screams again, stomping over to the fence closest to where the dragons and their handlers are.

Khun is equally indignant. "You're messing up my hair," he grumbles. "Stupid Gator."

"Oi! I'm not a gator, Blue Turtle!" Not at the moment he isn't, but Khun couldn't possibly know about Rak being an animagus, could he? Even Bam had only found out as a Third Year when Rak had gotten arrested.

"Oh yeah? Then explain those horrendous Muggle shoes."

Bam glances down. "Mr Khun," he says gently, "those are called Crocs. Not Gators."

"Same difference." Khun flips his hair over his shoulder. "He's Gator now."

Bam resists the urge to touch it. Khun's hair looks soft and smooth, unlike his own, which has a mind of its own. No matter how many times he combs it, it would bounce back into its natural shape, growing back in a day or even less if he ever cut it.

Rak sets them down to the ground, and Bam wanders over where to where Androssi is. The newly named 'Gator' and the blue haired boy are still squabbling over dragons, Muggle fashion and Muggle fashion that deserved to be burned with dragon fire.

"Sometimes, I wish I wasn't a Princess." Bam glances at the French witch, who is staring at the dragons, muzzles in their mouths, wings tied down to prevent damage. The look on her face is distant, wistful. "It gets stressful when people expect so much from you, but at the same time you wouldn't give it up for the world." The brunette quickly pretends he wasn't staring when Androssi turns her fiery orange eyes on him. "But you already know that, don't you, Slayer Viole?"

Viole tenses. "What are you trying to ask, Miss Androssi?"

Truth be told, Viole is tired. He is tired of the lies being spread about him - like the one painting he had seen of him with hair tied up in a ponytail, hair as long as his entire torso. He's tired of having stereotypes pinned down on him, of having people treat him like an untouchable god and not a person. He misses a reality where he could just be 'Bam', young and ignorant with his parents, who are no longer alive. Sometimes, he wishes he could just panic and cram for his OWLs like Ehwa does, without a worry for a war. Even Wangnan has it easy - he and his half-brother Karaka are bastard sons of Jahad, who doesn't know they exist.

Lucky Wangnan is allowed to spend his summers with Ehwa and the rest of their friends, while Viole and Karaka train with Master Jinsung. Master Jinsung is rather unorthodox with his methods - he makes them duel against each other with spells and hexes until they can barely stand, the last one standing being the winner. Once, Karaka had hit him with a Jelly Legs Jinx, and Viole collapsed on the spot, unable to call out a Shield Charm in time. As Master Jinsung cast the Counter-Jinx on him, Viole couldn't help but wonder when he would ever have to learn Dark Magic.

Androssi hums. "Maybe in another universe, we could've been friends from the very beginning. But here, we are supposed to be enemies, non?" They both turn to Khun, who begins to yell when Rak ruffles his perfect blue hair. "You seem to have taken a liking to _la myrtille_. What will you do when he kills you?"

Bam shrugs, wondering what a ' _myrtille_ ' is. Probably something blue, by the looks of it. "There's more than life to just being alive, Miss Androssi. Take it from me, I was born to die." The witch chokes at his joking tone. It's ironic, how he's giving advice about life when he isn't supposed to have much of one. "If I'm going to die, I might as well go out with a bang."

"I could kill you right here, right now, if I wanted to. Khun could do it. One spell, and it's _au revoir_ for you."

"I don't think so," Bam counters amicably. "Mr Khun doesn't look like a killer. You don't either."

Androssi raises an eyebrow. Is it just a trick of the light, or are the witch's eyelashes really a mix of red and orange? Muggle makeup? "How so?"

"Mr Khun reminds me of myself before I met Rachel," the Slayer answers. "He looks lonely."

"What about me?"

"You look like you're looking for something, but you don't know what, so you call attention to yourself to distract yourself from that."

Androssi mumbles something in French, looking away.

"Besides, Mr Khun is the only one who can actually do any damage. I threw myself down an entire flight of stairs for science, and I didn't even have to find a Healer."

Androssi looks at him, horrified, shouting to Khun in rapid-fire French. Now Khun is the one who turns to Bam, aghast. "You threw yourself down the stairs on purpose?"

Bam withers. "It was for science? I'm fine now..." Khun glares at him, freezing him on the spot until he mumbles an apology for something he doesn't regret in the slightest.

"Viole!" The four of them turn around to see Wangnan charging towards them. "Beauxbatons Champion girl!"

"My name is Androssi," the witch mutters snappishly.

The blonde reaches them, huffing and puffing. "Professor Evankhell wants you to gather on the other side of this place for the First Task!"

"Go," Khun urges them with a crooked grin. " _Bonne chance_ , both of you. I'll be watching."

"Good luck, Black Turtle!" Rak bellows. "Beat Ghost Eye Turtle!"

Bam laughs when Androssi makes a face, mocking Rak in French.

The Hufflepuff and the Beauxbatons witch hurry to the gathering point, where Leesoo and Hatsu are already waiting. Leesoo whoops loudly. "We're fighting dragons!"

"Nope!" Professor Evankhell sounds way too jolly for someone standing in front of four angry dragons. "The goal is to retrieve the golden egg. You may get injured, but you aren't allowed to directly injure the dragon."

Leesoo makes a face, and the Common Welsh Green roared in the distance.

"Miss Zahard, you're up first."

Androssi strolls up to her Swedish Shortsnout, wand gripped firmly in her hand. She looks fearless even in the face of danger, and Bam admires her for that. She would make an excellent Gryffindor. She summons her broomstick with a cry of "Accio!" The dragon inhales deeply, ready to spit blue flames at her. Suddenly, the dragon looks away - the witch had Transfigured a rock into a little dancing dog. She swoops in, steals the egg from right under the dragon's nose, swoops out. The dragon bellows, unleashing a stream of blue fire onto the rock-dog. It crumbles into ash in seconds. There had been no damage done to the dragon or its pile of eggs. The Beauxbatons students cheer for their champion, who blows the crowd a kiss as she soars above them, skirt fluttering in the wind.

Next up is Leesoo, who uses his quick thinking to Charm his Common Welsh Green into falling asleep. He retrieves the egg, but not before the dragon starts snoring and sets his tracksuit on fire. A short examination by the Hogwarts Healer, Nurse Hax, proves that Leesoo would be fine. Hatsu snickers, wondering if Leesoo is feeling crispy. Leesoo cracks his knuckles, then his neck, and his spine. He grins at the Japanese boy. "Deliciously crispy." 

Hatsu wrinkles his nose before he too steps forward to face his challenge. After the Hungarian Horntail, the Chinese Fireball is the most lethal of the dragons - it's draining for the Durmstrang boy to keep up his Shield Charm, deflecting a constant barrage of fire. He calls for an Ebublio Jinx while the dragon takes a deep breath, and the bubble forms around the creature just when it unleashes the biggest ball of flame yet. The bubble lasts long enough for Hatsu to dash around its legs and over its tail, Levitating the gold egg while he runs from the now-enraged dragon. The Durmstrang students roar in disappointment when the dragon begins to stomp all over its eggs in rage - Hatsu had gotten the target, but he hadn't fulfilled all the goals.

At last, it's Bam's turn.

"Good luck, Viole!" He hears Wangnan and Ehwa scream out from the crowd.

"Don't die, Black Turtle!" Rak bellows over their heads, causing a few Beauxbatons girls to glare his way.

Bam hears a few cries of "go Slayer!" before he's shoved into the pen with the Hungarian Horntail.

Unable to stop his suddenly itchy nose, the Slayer sneezes.

The dragon turns her large beady eyes on him, spikes raised in warning.

 _Remember what you were taught,_ Bam tells himself forcefully, _do not panic in the face of danger. Analyse your opponent. Find their weaknesses, and attack._

Bam rolls out of the way of a blast of fire, yelling "Aqua Eructo!" when the dragon pounces at him, claws outstretched, fangs dripping with spit. The jet of water smacks the dragon in the face, and it rears back with a roar.

_What next?_

The dragon spreads its wings, preventing the young Slayer from even looking at its eggs.

Bam stands, only for the Horntail to bat him aside with its tail, sending him flying. He swears with a violent gasp when he hits the ground. His arm burns like nothing he has ever felt before - a broken bone, probably.

Still, he grits his teeth, ducking under a swipe of a winged arm. He has to win. He can't afford to let down those who are supporting him.

Bam points his wand at himself. There's a spell he'd created a few months ago as part of his training, one that had only worked once before. He's not a Quidditch player - his broom is slow, and if he summoned it like Androssi did he'd never make it out of the dragon's clutches. His new spell, though, could. He called it the Hummingbird Charm. 

"Alis Volare!"

A pair of black wings made of pure magic materialize on his back, humming and buzzing like the bird it was named after. He hears the crowd begin to whisper, wondering how the Slayer had managed to create such a spell. The dragon swipes at him, and he jumps.

_Be strong. Do not fail._

The wings carry him far up into the air, high above the crowd, and the dragon follows without pause, a vengeful mother protecting her unborn children from a thief. There's a thick chain wrapped around her neck to prevent her from causing harm to the audience, and she struggles against it, jaws snapping. Bam dodges a few jets of fire, each one barely seconds away from the other.

"BAM!" Khun? Wangnan? And Ehwa? Why are they all yelling? "WATCH OUT!"

_CLANG!_

Bam startles, looking down.

_Shït._

The dragon had broken the chain anchored to the ground, and soars up towards him. She opens her mouth to swallow him whole.

_Shït!_

He flies, higher than he'd ever flown before. From far below, he hears Ehwa scream his name. The dragon is fast, strong, more agile than any opponent he'd ever had before. Sure, Karaka too is strong, but that is only in terms of magic. They haven't done much training in the physical aspect of things, Master Jinsung preferring to dabble in the Dark Arts instead.

He flies over a river, between mountain gorges. The dragon follows, snapping her jaws. He spirals out of the way of pointed teeth, barely missing a tree. The pain in his arm is beginning to fade now, replaced by the rush of adrenaline and the sensation of wind whipping his face and hair. He dares to look behind him, magic wings beating faster when he sees the dragon too close for comfort. He allows himself to fall a little, a jet of fire missing the top of his head and setting a swathe of forest alight.

Oh well.

He nearly slams into the Gryffindor tower, barely evading the pointed top. The dragon knocks the whole top of it off with a single swipe of a tail. _It's fine_ , he tells himself, heart jack-hammering in his chest, _stay calm. Magic can fix it._

He screams when the Horntail throws him aside a second later. Everything is most definitely _not_ fine. His wings falter and disappear entirely. He lands on his broken arm (again), scrabbling madly at the tiles of the clock tower. He gasps, winded. The dragon clings to the other side of the tower, Bam hanging from a flying buttress by his single unbroken arm.

"Episkey," he grunts, wand in his teeth, pointed at his arm. For a second, the world explodes in white with pain as the magic heals his bones.

Much better, but not for long.

The dragon launches herself off the tower, looking ready to kill. Bam isn't ready to die just yet (even if he can, that is). He lets go.

"Shinsu!" He screams out as he falls. He may have yelled out a few more profanities Professor Lero Ro would've washed his mouth out with bleach for.

He hears a beat of wings, landing squarely on a black horse-like creature which is more bone than flesh. It's a thestral - gentle in nature, but were stereotypical omens of death, especially because those who could see them had seen death before. Bam learns that they are incredibly uncomfortable to ride on, but Shinsu owes him a favor after Bam saved her colt's life a few years before. 'Shinsu' is one of the few words he remembers in Korean - 'divine water', if his memory is reliable. It's a fitting name for a god of death that takes the shape of a horse, fluid and smooth under his fingers.

He gives the thestral a kick on the flank. "Go," he urges her, "fly as fast as you can." Shinsu hoots, a slow trot moving to a gallop, wings beating in the air.

They race through the sky, a dark figure atop a dark horse, followed by a spiky dragon who screams and bellows at them. Shinsu lopes over trees, over mountains, back the way they came under Bam's precise instructions. Shinsu is faster than Bam was on his wings, more agile, the perfect opponent for the Hungarian Horntail.

Rak lets out a happy bellow of "Black Turtle!" when he spots them soaring over the cliffs and towards the arena. Ehwa and Wangnan collapse on top of each other in sheer relief and even Khun seems to slump a little in his seat next to them. The blue haired wizard throws himself to his feet, yelling over the railing as Shinsu folds her wings in and sends herself and her rider plummeting towards the ground and the golden egg.

Leaning over dangerously, Bam swipes the golden egg off the top of the pile, legs clamped around Shinsu's body for dear life. He definitely needs more physical training. He'll ask Master Jinsung for some over the summer, if his Master knew how.

The dragon lands not far behind them, nosing at her eggs to check for nonexistent damage.

"You did it!" Androssi sounds happy for him. "Cool thestral, by the way."

Hatsu nods, looking serious as always. "Congrats, Slayer."

"Where did you go, dude?" Leesoo looks up and down, gaping at Bam's scraped knees and tattered jacket. "Those wings were epic! How'd you get them?"

The Hogwarts students begin to scream for their champion, Wangnan and Ehwa the loudest of all.

Bam sighs. "It's a really long story." He hoists the golden egg above his head with a wide grin at the crowd, who cheer in sheer relief even though they may not be in his school. Far above, Khun gives him a thumbs up, and Bam is all too happy to return it.

His heart beats in his chest, loud and steady. For now, that is enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was originally planning to have all 3 tasks in here, but i found out that was too long when the first task took up 4000+ words lmaooo
> 
> alis volare is 'wings fly' in google translate latin, it's an entirely new spell i made up (minor spoilers for anime-onlys)
> 
> bam: so, i fell down the stairs and i didn't die, therefore i cannot die unless khun kills me  
> the khun in my head with hq!! kageyama's voice: bOKE! JYU VIOLE BOKE! dUMBASS WHY
> 
> translations:  
> 1) la myrtille: the blueberry (fr -> eng)  
> 2) au revoir: goodbye (fr -> eng)  
> 3) bonne chance: good luck


	3. aguamenti

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aguamenti: conjures a jet of clean, drinkable water from the tip of the caster's wand.
> 
> for the first time in forever, bam feels more like a human and less like the god he is supposed to be - interacting with khun feels like being blasted in the face with a hose, and leaves him feeling surprisingly fresh and clean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry for the slow update, but here's the yule ball! and the second task! featuring khun channeling his inner distinguished gay and bam being a hufflepuff! as well as khun being aggressively multilingual! i don't speak spanish tho, so if there are any errors pls let me know!

Aguero is sick and tired of listening to Androssi panicking about the Yule Ball.

As a Champion, she must be one of the first pairs on the dance floor - she has a dress, a beautiful pink chiffon dress that clings to the shape of her body, a Christmas gift that Aguero had secretly bought for her with his father's money; but she does not have a date, unlike the other champions. Leesoo's date is one of his classmates and close friends, a Muggleborn girl called Serena Rinnen. Hatsu too has a date, a metamorphmagus and a Princess of Death named Anaak, but their relationship is somewhat like Aguero and Androssi's, where they are the closest of friends at times, the worst of enemies at others. Androssi asks Bam to go with her, but the Hufflepuff turns her down as gently as possible, saying he is already going with a girl named Rachel, even though he looks unsure while saying it.

Aguero doesn't understand. So many boys - older, younger, of the same school, of different schools - have bent down in a ninety-degree bow in front of her, begging to be her date, but she turns them all down, seemingly unsatisfied.

The Spanish wizard is a little disappointed at how little Androssi thinks of him. He is her last choice, but he agrees anyway. It's not like he has a date either, with most of the girls being terrified of him and his reputation.

The suit he brought for the Ball hangs in his compressible closet. As much as he dislikes his father, he has to admit the man has good taste in clothes, almost as good as Aguero himself. It's a present, sent over from their family mansion in Spain. His dress shirt is white, contrasting sharply against the black of his pants. His tie is a slightly deeper blue than his hair, the same color as his dress robe. The robe's out-turned lapels too are black, swirling white patterns embroidered into them, like the pads on his shoulders. Just for the occasion, he ties his hair up in a ponytail with a blue bandana.

He looks handsome in that outfit, and he knows it.

Bam knows it too, by the way he stares. Leesoo and his date are out first, looking happy in each other's arms as music by the Weird Sisters plays in the background. Leesoo is wearing a grey formal version of a Muggle tracksuit, Serena in a daring strapless black dress that has quite a few of the older professors gaping. Hatsu is next, proud of his heritage if his black and red kimono is anything to go by. Anaak is looking a little green in her strapless red dress, and Aguero is pretty sure it's not just a trick of the light. He and Androssi are next, the wizard letting himself be led by his friend. He's a better dancer, but Androssi has her pride, gender stereotypes be damned. " _Mes pieds,_ " he complains under his breath, when Androssi accidentally steps on his foot.

" _Desolée,_ " mutters Androssi. " _Tes pieds sont trop grands._ "

This time, Aguero is the one who steps on Androssi, a light brush over the tip of her toes with the bottom of his glossy loafers so she doesn't scream and attack him right there in the middle of the hall. If his feet are big, what does Rak's count as?

It seems like Leesoo and Serena are also having trouble in paradise - when they waltz past, Aguero hears Leesoo hissing "stop stepping on my feet, hag!" and Serena retorting with "you started first, brat!"

Aguero snorts. " _C'est une grande catastrophe._ " His dance partner agrees.

Bam and his friend Rachel are the last of the Champion pairs to step out onto the dance floor. Rachel doesn't look like much - just an ordinary freckled blonde in a pink frock, but Aguero dislikes her instantly. Perhaps it's because her hair looks too unnaturally yellow, like hay has been stacked on her head. Bam, on the other hand, wears a black dress robe with silver lining around the edges, a silver belt tied snug around his waist. He has nice boots, Aguero notes.

" _Il est si mignon dans son costume, non?_ " Androssi really loves using Bam against him, doesn't she? As if she hadn't been trying to charm her way into his pants two days ago. " _Je peux être ta sœur d'armes, si tu veux. Il t'aime plus._ "

" _Non, merci,_ " Aguero snaps, harsher than he'd intended. He can't allow himself to get any closer, Androssi knows she can't either. What are they both doing, 'friends' with the Slayer? " _As-tu oublié que je dois le tuer dans le futur?_ "

His Ombrelune partner laughs. " _Il pense que tu est solitaire, et que nous ne sommes pas tueurs. Il m'a dit hier, quand vous vous disputiez avec le grand homme._ "

" _Alors il doit être fou,_ " says Aguero sharply. Lonely? Why did Bam assume that he was lonely? He sighs, thinking about how worried he and Androssi had been for the young Slayer the day before when he'd disappeared from the dragon arena. " _Mais nous sommes fous aussi. Peut-être je suis le plus grand fou de tous._ "

" _Peut-être._ "

They quieten down when the rest of the students make their way to the floor. The first dance is over. Bam and Rachel are nowhere to be seen, Hatz and Anaak are chatting on the other side of the room and Leesoo and Serena are getting drinks.

Androssi sighs. " _Ah, j'ai soif._ "

They leave the dance floor, finding seats next to the two American students. Aguero plops himself into his seat wearily. His feet ache after Androssi's brutal attack with her heels. Leesoo tries to flirt with the French witch, but she doesn't give him a chance. Aguero spots his younger sister Kiseia glaring daggers at him from the opposite side of the room, alone in her sky blue dress.

" _Je vais prendre un bon bol d'air,_ " he murmurs to his date.

Androssi downs her drink, waving dismissively. " _Adiós_."

Kiseia waves him over. " _Hermano, ven aquí._ "

Aguero approaches his younger sister warily. " _¿Qué deseas?_ " Whatever Kiseia has to say, it probably isn't for the public - they only speak Spanish at home, or when they may have unwanted visitors listening in.

" _Necesitas dejar de fraternizar con el enemigo,_ " she spits at him. " _No creas que no te he visto con el chico asesino._ "

Aguero grins at his sister crookedly. " _Me estoy poniendo en sus buenas gracias, así que va a doler más cuando lo traiciono. ¿No es ese el objetivo?_ "

 _Liar, liar,_ whispers a voice in his mind. He is a liar, and he will bear that tag proudly, if it means he gets what he wants..

Kiseia squints at him. " _No te creo._ "

What she doesn't know can't hurt her. The older Khun flips his hair over his shoulder. " _No tienes que, hermana querida._ "

" _Nuestro padre escuchará sobre esto,_ " she threatens. Is she hoping to scare Aguero into following Jahad's agenda for the Khuns instead of his own? It's not working.

If anything, he's now more determined to help the Slayer. Bam had asked him for friendship, but had requested nothing in return. He's naïve, but oddly enough, Aguero wants to keep that innocent brightness he has. He's interesting. The wizard shrugs carelessly. " _¡Adelante! No me importa._ "

Kiseia harrumphs, storming away from her older brother. Aguero grins. He's already a disappointment, why not disappoint his family some more?

He steps away from the crowd, brain whirring into motion as he plots and schemes in secret.

"Mr Khun!"

He whirls around to see Bam running towards him. The bright look of delight is a stark contrast against the darkness of his clothes. His cheeks glow pink, and Aguero can't help but smile at the infectious happiness. "Hey, Bam."

The Hufflepuff skids to a halt, thrusting a package at Aguero. "Merry Christmas!"

Aguero's eyes go wide with bewilderment. "You bought me a present?" They'd only known each other for two days! Even his own family didn't celebrate Christmas.

Bam grins toothily. "Open it! I already gave Miss Androssi hers, and I gave them to Mr Leesoo, Mr Hatz and Anaak too. Miss Serena didn't want one. But they're part of a set! All my other friends already have them, and I thought you'd be a nice addition to the list."

Carefully, Aguero unwraps the ribbon tied around the package. He peels the wrapping paper away, revealing a box. Inside the box is a pocket watch - or not quite. Instead of numbers to represent the time and second, minute and hour hands, the watch has words like 'FUG base', 'Hogwarts', 'missing', 'in mortal peril', with named needles pointing in different directions.

The Khun squints. There's a needle with his name on it. Most of the needles point towards Hogwarts, but there are a few pointing to FUG base. It's an oddly thoughtful gift. He sees the people belonging to Bam's found family: Rak, the gator; Wangnan and Ehwa, who are having a muggle dance-off; Ha Jinsung, one of FUG's most notable wizards and apparently Bam's self-proclaimed adoptive father; even Jahad's beloved Princess and wielder of the Black March wand Ha Yuri.

"But why?" He swallows. "Why me?"

"We're friends, aren't we?" The brunette counters. He scratches his neck bashfully. "Also, Miss Hwaryun may have suggested that I should keep an eye on you." 

Much to Aguero's own surprise, he barks out a laugh, lips quirking up in a smile on one side. "How nice of you to disguise a tracking device as a gift."

Bam splutters. "I had good intentions!" He pouts. Cute. "Don't tease me, Mr Khun."

Aguero sees the shadows of a few people as they give him and Bam a wide berth, almost like they're scared. Aguero smirks. Let them think what they want about the God Killer and the Golden Slayer - Aguero refuses to be ruled. He makes his own rules, for that is the mindset of a ruler, is it not? For now, he'll have a bit of fun with this young boy destined to kill a king.

It turns out that the Slayer is incredibly easy to fluster. 

The brunette gasps when Aguero grabs him by the wrist, golden eyes widening and cheeks flushing a pretty pink when Aguero pulls him close. The Weird Sisters are playing a slow song in the background, and Aguero seizes the opportunity. "May I have this dance, Mr Grace?"

"S-Sure," Bam stammers. Aguero can feel the slayer's breath against his skin, feel the hammering of his pulse under his skin. "Are you sure, though? Your sister is glaring at us. I hear her talking to you earlier. She looks like she'd fight you to get to kill me."

Aguero pulls Bam onto the dance floor, blowing Kiseia a kiss. The younger Khun turns her nose up in disgust, stalking away. Bam chokes on a sound that's between a giggle and a gasp when Aguero intertwines their fingers, puts Bam's left hand on his own shoulder and his right hand around Bam's waist. Bam's hands are incredibly warm. "One of your professors is also glaring at us," Aguero adds with a sly grin in said professor's direction. 

"That would be Professor Ro," Bam tells him as Aguero leads them through the dance. Bam stumbles a little, steps on his feet quite often, but Aguero doesn't mind. "He's the head of Ravenclaw. He warned me about you." He clears his voice, lowering it and making it sound a little nasally in a clear mockery of the professor. "Mr Grace? I recommend that you don't become too close to that Mr Khun. He's from a dangerous family."

Aguero laughs, and Bam squeaks when the bluenette dips him, exhaling in relief when they're both standing again. "Do you trust me?" Aguero purrs, lips next to Bam's ear. Professor Ro's glare increases tenfold. "Be honest with me, Bam."

"More than I should," the Slayer admits. From halfway across the room, Androssi gives him a thumbs up, and next to her, Wangnan hoots, only for Ehwa to stomp on his foot. Bam's friend Rachel is trying to stare at them without seeming suspicious, standing beside a tall girl with dark blue hair pinned back in a bun with a star.

"It's natural for you not to trust me," Aguero says carelessly. "But fück Jahad." Bam's eyes are as wide as dinner plates, and Aguero resists the urge to grin. Swearing in English always makes him feel like a bad-ass. It almost feels as good as being honest does. He'd like to be honest, only his family thrives on a throne of lies. "I've decided to help you."

"You- What?" Bam goggles at him. "You'll... help... me?"

"Remember the golden egg you got from yesterday's Task?" 

Bam nods furiously. "It screams like Ehwa whenever she sees a roach."

Aguero leans closer, throwing away all sense of personal space. "That's not what it sounds like underwater."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

Aguero tries not to give the Hogwarts Champion any more hints, but a single glance with those big doe eyes has his ice-king facade melting. He spills the fact that the Second Task involves the merfolk of the Black Lake almost immediately.

Bam has already given Aguero his trust, against all odds. The least Aguero can do in return is give Bam his time, his friendship, his intelligence. Just for now, they're not the King Slayer and the God Killer. Just for now, they're just two boys, slow dancing in magical snow and a fake candle-lit sky like they have all the time in the world.

Aguero falls asleep with a silly smile on his face. 

He doesn't wake up in the morning.

* * *

"Viole!" 

The boy in question jolts awake and nearly headbutts someone hard enough to knock them both out.

"Wha- What's happening?"

Regular nightmares and insomnia have made him incoherent in the mornings - it takes a while for him to remember where he is, who he's with, what counts as reality and what doesn't.

He's in the Hufflepuff Fifth Year Boy's dorm. Wangnan is leaning over him, looking terrified, but at least he is not glassy eyed and lifeless like in the mental terror Bam had been subjected to mere moments ago.

It seems like reality is not entirely a pleasant dream either when he hears a female scream echo up the staircase and into the dorm. Wangnan winces. "It's that Androssi chick. She wants to talk to you about that blue guy you've been hanging out with. She doesn't seem very happy. Rachel's friend, that Ha girl's downstairs too, but Rachel's not with her."

Bam's eyes widen. The 'blue guy' must be none other than Khun - he swallows when he remembers the events of last night, fighting the blush that threatens to rise on his cheeks. He's going to kill you, he tells himself, he said he's going to try to help you but he's going to end up killing you anyway.

Khun really will be the death of him, one way or another.

The 'Ha girl' is Yura Ha, a Slytherin prefect - these days, she and Rachel are joined at the hip, much like Bam and Rachel were before Hogwarts. He hasn't interacted much with Yura, Rachel being the only reason they would ever talk. If Yura is looking for him, something must have happened to Rachel.

Quickly, he fishes out the golden egg resting under his bed. 

Last night, Khun had tipped him off about the next task with a cryptic message of 'the egg doesn't scream underwater'. Wangnan had managed to sneak Bam and the egg into the Prefects' Bathroom, thanks to him being one of Hufflepuff's beloved Prefects. Wangnan had kept watch while Bam dunked his head under the water, listening to what the egg had to say. He had forgotten the exact wording, but it was something about the merfolk stealing something the Champions would 'sorely miss', and being given an hour to recover that thing before they set the Grindylows loose.

Bam's spirits fall like a Liberacorpus Jinx victim when he realizes the merfolk had stolen their closest friends.

He scrambles out of bed, nearly tripping over Wangnan in his haste to change out of his sleepwear and find the two girls. He doesn't bother putting his shoes on, instead holding them in his hands as he slips and slides out of the dorms, through the Common Room, and out into the corridor. 

Androssi is drenched in vinegar, courtesy of the Hufflepuff Common Room password. "Khun is missing," she snips when he appears.

"Good morning to you too, Miss Androssi," the brunette says, amused. He and Yura exchange polite head bobs.

"I can't find Rachel either." Yura's bright blue eyes are wide with worry. Bam can't help but wonder why the merfolk didn't take Wangnan, or Ehwa.

"I know, the mermaids of the Black Lake took them for our next Task." He quickly knots his laces up, not bothering to comb his unruly hair with his fingers.

"Come on, Miss Androssi, Professor Evankhell is probably waiting for us already."

The two girls follow him through the corridors as he makes his way to the lake, Wangnan tagging behind. The blonde tries and fails to flirt with Androssi, but his failure lightens the mood a little, lifting the French witch's worries for her closest friend.

The audience are arranged on magically enlarged rafts on the lake - one for Hogwarts, one for Beauxbatons, one for Ilvermorny and one for Durmstrang. Bam is about to make his way to the Hogwarts raft when somebody grabs his arm and pulls him aside.

"Miss Hwaryun?"

The redheaded Ravenclaw seer greets him by handing him a vial of something that looks foul and smells equally terrible. "Gillyweed from Professor Yu's Potion's cupboard," she says quietly, "it will help you breathe."

Bam nods. "Thank you, Miss Hwaryun."

"Anything for you, my God." Bam holds back a sigh. No matter what he says, Hwaryun insists on calling him a god, just like Master Jinsung and the rest of FUG.

Professor Evankhell tells them they're not allowed wands - that must be why Hwaryun had given him the Gillyweed.

Cheers.

He swallows the plant in a single gulp, like he's taking a shot of Firewhiskey. He resists the urge to spit it back out - it tastes just as good as it looks.

Wangnan wolf-whistles from his position at the edge of a raft when the Slayer strips down into a thin undershirt and boxers, and Bam responds by tossing his coat and pants into the Prefect's hands. He slips into the water and waits for the Gillyweed to take effect.

He hisses. It's cold.

He sees Leesoo and Androssi sitting on the edge of their respective rafts, casting wandless Bubble-head Charms on themselves before slipping into the water. Leesoo flounders a little, complaining about the cold, and his dance partner from yesterday openly laughs at him. The Hufflepuff wonders who the Ilvermorny boy's most precious friend is.

Hatsu takes a page out of Anaak's book by Transfiguring his head into that of a shark's. Anaak is nowhere to be seen, and Bam can only assume she has become a hostage of the merfolk too. 

The boy gasps, neck burning when gills form. There's an itch in his fingers, and when he looks down, there are newly formed webs between them. His feet are deformed, feet turned into flippers, one on each leg. The audience watch in awe as the young Slayer flips and turns in the water, trying to get used to his new form.

At the bottom of the lake, Rachel is waiting for him - he has a quarter of an hour left. Without a second thought, he dives.

The merfolk are not friendly, but neither are they entirely antagonistic. They hiss at the Hogwarts Champion when he kicks past them, screeching at Hatsu and his strange shark head. 

Hatsu and Leesoo are the first to reach the hostages, Bam not far behind. Rachel, Khun, Anaak and a dark-haired Ilvermorny boy are all chained down, held captive by merfolk wielding spears and sharp claws. They're all in their sleepwear - the professors must've stolen them from their beds and handed them over to the merfolk the night before. Stuck in an enchanted sleep, Rachel's hair drifts in a halo around her, a yellow cloud in the water. Khun looks like a ghost, with his pale features and floating blue hair. Anaak looks annoyed, even when unconscious - it's the first time Bam has seen the girl without any kind of Metamorphmagus visual enhancement. The last boy, Leesoo's friend, is wrapped in a blanket like a Muggle burrito. Leesoo mumbles something about a "lazy Phonsekal Lauroe".

Leesoo shouts out a wandless Confundus Charm on one of the merfolk that clears a path for them, and Bam hands Hatsu a rock when the currently half-shark boy tries and fails to say a spell to free his friend. Hatsu gets to manually smashing the chains.

The brunette only realizes Androssi isn't there with them when he finally tugs Rachel out of her chains. He swims up towards the surface with a look of grim determination on his face - he has fifteen minutes left, and he wants to avoid the Grindylows.

He whirls around when he hears a scream. It's Androssi, and she's in trouble. The French witch is caught in the grasp of the Giant Squid, a tentacle wrapped around her leg, a massive eye staring at her with a look of curious hunger. "Bam!" She shouts. Her kicks are futile, and the Slayer can see blood start to form where the squid's suckers dig into her skin. The squid begins to pull her in towards its mouth. "Help!"

As a Hufflepuff and a friend, Bam cannot say no.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

The squid freezes, and Bam takes the opportunity to wrench Androssi out of the squid's killer grip with one arm, Rachel in another. By the wince of pain she tries to hide, Androssi is too injured to swim any further.

He thrusts Rachel into her arms. "Go," he mouths, "I'll get Mr Khun."

Androssi nods, a call of "Ascendio!" pushing her up and away. Bam twists and swims down. He passes Leesoo and Hatsu, who glance at him curiously (or as curiously as a shark can look, at least).

"Slayer," one of the mermaids hiss at him, "why have you returned?"

"I need to save my friends," the Slayer answers honestly. He tries to swim past, but the merfolk bar his way, a wall of spears and fangs.

"You have already saved one," screeches another. "You cannot save another."

"Too bad." Bam would feel guilty for his terrible manners, but the merfolk would never let him save Khun if he hadn't shoved right past them. A shout of "Diffindo!" has the chains falling away from the blue haired wizard, and Bam grabs hold of him immediately. 

The merfolk screech to each other. "You are out of time, boy!"

A chorus of screeches alerts him to the release of the Grindylows. The Slayer swears lowly to himself, Khun a dead-weight in his arms. He snaps his legs together, kicking them back and forth and powering him up. The little water demons chase after him, jaws snapping eagerly. He'd heard about them from Rak, who still bore scars from a nasty attack in his gator form. They can be tamed by the merfolk, Rak had told him, but they're not friendly to anything else. They'd eat you if they could.

Bam blasts them away with an Explosion Charm, but a few of the sturdier ones still follow. One screeches at him loudly, and he screeches back, equally loud in his intentions.

_I am not getting out of here without Khun._

He grits his teeth when one grabs him by the hair, another trying to pull Khun out of his grasp by tugging on the blue haired boy's bare foot. Another is trying to eat his face.

He throws his head back, like Rachel does just before she ties her hair. He headbutts the Grindylow hard enough for it to shriek and let go. He may or may not have given himself a head injury by smashing his forehead into the other demon's jaw, where jagged teeth are waiting. He kicks the one attached to Khun's foot with a well aimed flipper to the face.

He pushes Khun over the surface of the water, and Wangnan grabs Khun's arms, dragging the unconscious bluenette onto the raft. Bam follows, clambering away from the Grindylows' snapping jaws and insatiable appetite for flesh. They sink back into the depths of the lake, snapping their jaws at lost prey.

Everybody else is already there. Leesoo is shivering in the distance, a towel wrapped around him, his friend - Lauroe, was it? - is equally drenched, but awake. He seems to be crying over his soaked blanket. Anaak is Transfiguring Hatsu's head back into a human one, and Androssi is sitting aside, having her leg treated by Nurse Hax as Yura frets over Rachel from her position on the Hogwarts raft. The audience must be wondering why the Beauxbatons champion is with a Hogwarts girl, and the Hogwarts champion with a Beauxbatons boy - he can hear Rak shouting in confusion about his Black Turtle saving the Killer Blue Turtle.

There's a quiet groan, and Khun's eyes flutter open. He looks dazed, electric blue eyes dulled. "Bam? What happened? Where am I?"

Khun's voice is heavily accented with a mixture of French and Spanish, huskier than it normally is. Bam smiles down at him through the exhaustion clouding his mind. He winces when the gills flap back into skin, his flippers shrinking back into feet. He wiggles his fingers, glad to see there's no web in between. "Hey, Mr Khun. How are you feeling?"

The blue-haired wizard pushes himself into a sitting position, picking at his soaked shirt with a wrinkled nose. He tips his head back, patting his hair down with the towel Wangnan had just passed him. "How did I end up in the lake? "

His eyes widen when Bam takes off his shirt, wringing out the liquid out. Bam shakes his head aggressively, Wangnan jumping back when some water splashes onto him. Khun looks vaguely alarmed when he sneezes. "Blame whoever planned the Second Task."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> translations: there's a lot of them today  
> 1) mes pieds: my feet (fr)  
> 2) desolée, tes pieds sont très grands: sorry, your feet are too big (fr)  
> 3) c'est une grande catastrophe: what a great catastrophe  
> 4) il est si mignon dans son costume, non? je peux être ta soeur d'armes, si tu veux. il t'aime plus: he looks pretty cute in that outfit, no? i can be your wingwoman (soeur d'armes is wingwoman), if you want. he likes you more (fr)  
> 5) non, merci, as-tu oublié que je dois le tuer dans le futur: no thanks, have you forgotten i have to kill him later (fr)  
> 6) il pense que tu est solitaire, et que nous ne sommes pas tueurs. il m'a dit hier, quand vous vous disputiez avec le grand homme: he thinks you're lonely, and that neither of us are killers. he told me yesterday, when you were squabbling with the big man (fr)  
> 7) alors il doit être fou. mais nous sommes fous aussi. peut-être je suis le plus grand fou de tous: then he is stupid. but we must be fools also - maybe i am the biggest fool of us all. (fr)  
> 8) j'ai soif: i'm thirsty (fr)  
> 9) je vais prendre un bon bol d'air: i'm going to take a breath of fresh air (un bon bol d'air is a breath of fresh air) (fr)  
> 10) adiós: goodbye (sp (me, to the tune of adios by everglow: goodbye au révoir adiós))  
> 11) hermano, ven aquí: brother, come here (sp)  
> 12) qué deseas: what do you want (sp)  
> 13) necesitas dejar de fraternizar con el enemigo, no creas que no te he visto con el chico asesino: you need to stop fraternizing with the enemy (hp reference!), don't think i haven't seen you with that slayer boy (sp)  
> 14) me estoy poniendo en sus buenas gracias, así que va a doler más cuando lo traiciono. ¿no es ese el objetivo?: i'm getting myself in his good graces, so it's going to hurt more when i betray him. isn't that the point? (sp)  
> 15) no te creo: i don't believe you (sp)  
> 16) no tienes que, hermana querida: you don't have to, sister dearest (sp)  
> 17) nuestro padre escuchará sobre esto: our father will hear about this (sp) (draco voice: mY fAtHer wIlL hEaR aBoUt tHis!!)  
> 18) ¡adelante! no me importa: go ahead! i don't care (sp)

**Author's Note:**

> i've got a list of headcanons on tumblr which you can find [here](https://lokislytherin.tumblr.com/post/621590346462330880/lokislytherin-wizardingtog-au-headcanons-some), and i'm still adding to the list! i'm pretty hyped for 2020 khunbam week aus, which you'll be able to find on my oneshot acc bluebellsandhoney! i've got a lot of fics planned, including a merfolk au and a social media one, so whooo my muse is flourishing!
> 
> all hail siu, creator of tower of god.


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